British man falls to his death while taking selfie at Indian temple

NEW DELHI: A 58-year-old British man died while taking a selfie at the Lakshmi Temple in Orchha, India. It was the last stop on a round-the-world trip with his wife Hilary that took in a total of 22 countries.

Roger Stotesbury, a documentary filmmaker from Buckingham near Oxford, fell from a height of 30 feet (nine meters) while reportedly taking a photograph of himself.

“He was the nicest man on the planet and they were an incredibly happy and devoted couple. It’s just awful,” a family spokesperson said, as cited.

Stotesbury and his wife Hilary began their round-the-world trip in November 2016, visiting Italy, Chile, Patagonia, Canada, Hawaii, Australia, Japan, Korea, China, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia before arriving in India.

The couple rented out their home and put their personal belongings in storage for the voyage.

We are Hilary and Roger, a married couple from England/Scotland who are in their mid fifties. Hilary’s motto is ‘just do it’ whilst Roger’s is ‘to die young as late as possible,” the couple wrote on their blog entitled ‘middle-aged gap year.’ Stotesbury fell as he tried to take a selfie at the temple in Orchha, 160 miles south of the Taj Mahal.

“We took the view that on your deathbed you never wish you’d spent more time in the office,” the pair wrote.

“We’ve seen our two kids off into the wider world and we have no more caring responsibilities for our parents. So we thought now is the time to take a gap year and travel whilst we still have the health and energy. After all you only live once.”